Echoes of Blood and Glory

by Ripley Proserpina

  His hands kneaded her butt, and she shut her eyes, loving the way she fit in his hands.

  The door suddenly slammed against the back wall, and she jumped, then spun. Seti stood there, glaring at them.

  And dripping water onto the floor.

  Rose leapt into action, pulling out extra clothes from one of the backpacks someone had dropped.

  Seti stood frozen—maybe literally—and waited for her to get out a towel and dry things. His skin was cold as she ran the towel over it and then began to push his jacket off his shoulders. “Why’d you jump in?”

  Only his eyes moved, flicking toward her.

  “Right. Breaking ice. Not a job you can do from the shore, I’m guessing.”

  “I could have done it from shore.” Horus had somehow snuck inside. “But someone had opinions.”

  Rose didn’t want either of them hurt. But already, Seti’s skin was warming beneath her hands. She grabbed his shirt and dragged it over his head. He let her, and she got an eyeful of golden-brown skin and muscles.

  Hesitating with the dry shirt, she asked, “Need me to warm you with my body heat?”

  Seti erupted into motion. As he pushed her jacket off her shoulders, his fingers grazed her neck. “Holy crap! You’re freezing.”

  “It’s ten degrees outside,” he growled. “And I’m wet.”

  He snaked his hands under her shirt to lay them against her back, and she squealed. Goosebumps blasted along her skin, but she gritted her teeth and wrapped her arms around him. “Better?” she asked through chattering teeth.

  “He’s fine.” She couldn’t see Ra, she was so closely pressed to Seti, but she could make out the swish of the broom over the floor.

  Eventually, Seti’s skin warmed beneath her cheek, and he let out a contented sight. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t move. “This is nice.”

  “It is.” Resting his cheek on her head, he squeezed her hard and then patted her ass. “But I need to get out of these pants before my manhood turns blue.”

  His hips were nestled against her. He was hard, and the length of him pressed against her belly. “It feels fine to me.”

  Stupid mouth.

  But Seti only laughed as he stepped away. He leaned over, exposing the long line of his spine, to pick up a pair of jeans from the floor. His muscles flexed and rippled as he straightened—and caught her staring.

  “Any water?” he asked, smirking at her a second before shifting his gaze to his brothers.

  “No,” Horus said. “The pipes will freeze.”

  “No hot water?” she asked. “Electricity?”

  “I have to hook us in,” Horus said. “I can’t do anything about the pipes, but Ra will start a fire while I figure out the rest of it.”

  He left again, but Rose stared after him, worried. It was as if once she allowed herself to think about all the ways Horus could be hurt, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  His broad shoulders shadowed the doorway. He was a strong man, human or immortal, with thousands of years of experience. Surely he knew his own limits.

  “How did you know about this place?” She forced her mind away from her concerns and faced Ra.

  “We stayed here years ago.”

  That was not very specific. “What time of year?” she asked, wondering if maybe they’d chosen this place again because they’d forgotten about the amenities that wouldn’t have been a big deal during the warmer months.

  “About the same time,” he said. He knelt in front of the fire and twisted to look up the chimney. “I need to run out for some logs and kindling. Don’t go anywhere.”

  She glanced out the window. “Okay.”

  The bathroom door opened, and Seti came out. His clothes were dry, and he must have run a comb through his hair because it lay in sleek waves over his head. Gorgeous man fell in a pond and looked even better than before.

  Rose crossed her arms and bounced a little on her feet.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Ra said, walking to her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, nodded at Seti, and left.

  “Here.” Seti went to a duffle bag and pulled out a sleeping bag and blanket. “I forget how fragile you humans are.”

  She rolled her eyes at him, but accepted the sleeping bag. Spreading it out on the floor next to the wall, she sat and leaned back. This was better. The bag blocked some of the cold air coming from beneath the house, and with her knees to her chest, she could conserve some body heat.

  “Come here.” Seti edged around her, settling himself between her body and the wall. God, he was so warm. She leaned against him and let out a happy sigh.

  “Feeling better?” she asked.

  “It wasn’t that bad,” he replied. His voice was quiet next to her ear. She felt his lips skim the shell before he leaned back against the wall and stretched one leg beside her. “I was being a little dramatic.”

  “You?” She laid the snark on thick. Fingers dug into her sides, and she curled. “Stop!”

  “Mouthy woman.”

  “Drama queen.” She could barely get the words out, she was laughing so hard.

  After a moment, the trail his fingers made changed. He was no longer tickling her, he was smoothing his fingertips along her skin, beneath her shirt, and toward her belly.

  “Beautiful, strong, mouthy woman.” His low voice conjured warmth between her legs, and she pushed against him.

  He had her between his legs and began to grow hard, his erection pressing against her back. He kissed the side of her neck, swooping her hair away to reveal more skin. “I wish I could bite you.” He groaned. “I bet the taste would be worth the pain.”

  Not to her. She’d never forget how Horus had looked, grimacing and arching, twisting and shaking after he’d tasted her.

  Her blood would wipe the humor and sparkle from Seti’s eyes.

  Rose turned in his arms, shifting until she sat in his lap, her legs on either side of him, her body slightly higher. With blue eyes bright like the sky, he gazed up, studying her. A smile played on his lips, and he pushed her hair from her face with gentle fingers, letting them linger on her temple.

  Slowly, she bent her head until their lips touched. His were warm, just like the rest of his skin. What a shame he’d gotten dressed, because she wanted to feel all of the warmth.

  Pulling away, he ripped his shirt off and tossed it somewhere beside him. In the face of all his beautiful skin, she forgot about the cold snaking between the floorboards. He was warmth—the origin of it—and all she had to do was get closer for it to surround her as well.

  “Rose.” Her name was followed by a groan as she lowered her head to his collarbone. She kissed him, lingering in the spot right at the base of his throat. That little hollow that had to have a name, but she’d never learned it. After today, she would, because she loved this place on Seti.

  Breathing in, she smelled the outside on him. Pine trees and wood smoke and something a little bit earthier, like when he’d fallen in the pond, he’d settled at the bottom.

  Seti held the back of her head, fingers curving over her skull to hold her in place.

  Rose darted her tongue out to taste him and then kissed the little wet spot she left.

  He moved, cupping her head, and he laid her down on the sleeping bag and sat back on his heels. He came back over her, sliding his hands up her shirt and beneath the cups of her bra to rest over her nipples. His hands were slightly cooler than the rest of his body, and she sucked in a breath. Arching into him, she closed her eyes so she could focus entirely on the sensation.

  In the back of her mind, she registered the slip of fabric over her hips as he dragged down her underwear and pants, and the freezing air drifting over her shoulders and breasts.

  Seti shifted, and when he came back, he was naked, pressed against her entire length and holding her close.

  Now she let herself open her eyes.

  Seti’s head was tucked against
her shoulders. She moved her hands over his back, rubbing as she flexed her body toward him.

  Each breath he took expanded his ribs. They came fast and were deep, like he couldn’t get enough air.

  “Are you…” She tried to tap into his mind, but he shook his head.

  “Just,” he swallowed audibly. “Just give me a second to get control of myself.”

  Rose opened her legs and wrapped them around his waist, leveraging herself closer. He fell a little more on her, but braced himself with his hands. His eyes were shut.

  Hiding from her.

  She reached up, cupped his neck, and drew him to her lips.

  He was hesitant at first, and just as out of breath, but slowly, he lost himself. The door between them opened an inch, allowing the tidal wave of his emotions to push it open even more.

  She was swamped, swept under by the water.

  This man was good at hiding things. Everything he’d shown her until this point was just the tip of the iceberg. She remembered when she first met the brothers, and they would hint at things.

  Iceberg words, she’d called the teasing little bits of information that hinted at giant secrets below the surface.

  Seti was like those icebergs. He had kept so much from his brothers. From her.

  Getting control of himself wasn’t just physical, it had been emotional. He hadn’t wanted to reveal this.

  Fear. Love. More fear. Bitterness.

  She’d never have guessed that Seti was a creature seeped in bitterness. He wanted to be stronger and faster—like Horus, and more powerful—like Ra. All he wanted was to protect them, and all he could see himself as was less.

  No, no, no. He wasn’t that. Not to her. To her, he was everything. Seti had come back for her when she was alone.

  For the man who wished for his brothers’ safety above all else, to have left those brothers for her?

  It floored her.

  And it made him hers.

  “You are enough,” she whispered in his ear. “More than. You’re everything.”

  Between her legs, he rocked his hips, cock gliding through her folds. Yes.

  She opened her eyes to stare at him. His arms shook, and his blue eyes had darkened to navy.

  He rocked away from her, and she reached between them, gripping him to line him up with her center.

  But he still didn’t move.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked.

  Because it was something. There was some barrier between them that kept him from claiming her.

  Fine. “I’ll claim you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and with one flick of her hips, impaled herself on him.

  Seti let out a groan so loud, she felt the vibrations in her chest. He moved then, withdrawing and then thrusting.

  His eyes were wide open, caught by hers. It was almost too much. Not only was he showing her how he felt, but he was allowing the door between them to remain open.

  With each roll of his hips, he got closer and closer. She wanted him to let his guard down to her, to fully put himself in her hands and know that he was safe there.

  She was getting close. Waves of fire swept over her body, ravaging her, driving her closer to exploding. She wasn’t cold anymore; she was so hot, sweat dripped in her eyes, stinging them.

  Arms wrapped around his neck, Rose countered every thrust Seti made. Her forehead touched the spot at his throat, and her lips were right at the center of his chest.

  Everything inside her coalesced, like metal held in a forge. She was fire and needed relief, something to quench the thirst left in the wake of this inferno.

  So she opened her mouth and bit down.

  Seti cried out—not a sound of pain—because he held her there, against his chest as the iron taste filled her mouth and warmth flooded her insides.

  As quick as it happened, she released him, swiping her tongue over the wound and then her hand over her mouth.

  Seti sat back, pressing his hand over his chest as the blood dripping down his chest slowed to a trickle. Rose kept her gaze on his chest, waiting for the moment when the blood stopped flowing, before she met his stare.

  The smile on his face filled her with lightness. Pride. She pulled the bitterness from his body; it left him the same way his blood had.

  “You,” he whispered. He let his hand fall away, revealing two rows of divots in his chest that turned from red, to pink, to flesh-toned. “You beautiful, mouthy, stubborn, possessive woman.”

  Her hand shook as she swiped it across her mouth and got to her knees. “I’ve claimed you,” she whispered. It was important she say it aloud and leave no question over it.

  He nodded and suddenly came over her again, fixing his mouth to hers. “Now allow me to claim you again.”

  23

  Ra

  Seti’s cry scared the birds, and Ra cursed that he hadn’t moved farther from the cabin. He’d thought across the pond, felling trees his brother caught before they landed, would be a good distraction.

  Apparently not. He’d had one ear tuned toward the cabin. Not because he wanted to hear his brother—gods, no. But in case there was trouble.

  There was none, and he instead got—he wrinkled his nose.

  “It’s my turn to push,” Horus growled. And Ra barely had time to catch the towering pine beginning a slow descent toward his head.

  His knees bent only a little under the weight, and he laid it on the ground. It fit quite nicely on top of the other tree, making a barrier of sorts around the pond. Later, when Seti was—never mind that—they’d make another barrier around the cabin. Like one of the forts that had dotted this same land four hundred years ago.

  Horus grunted as they hefted the tree into place, catching Ra’s attention.

  “Do you need to stop?” he asked.

  He studied his brother, taking in the sweat dotting his brow and the way his shoulders lifted with each breath. His heart was pounding too fast, the blood rushing through his veins. What was happening?

  Ra strode toward him as soon as the tree hit the ground. “We will stop now.”

  “No.” Horus trekked through the snow toward another tree. He put his hands against it, leaning hard until the wood began to groan and crack.

  “Horus.” He spoke aloud, unwilling for his brother to ignore him, or shut the door between their minds. “Stop.”

  The tree tilted, but Ra pushed his brother’s hands out of the way. “Stop,” he said both with his mind and voice.

  Horus let out a growl, pushed himself away, and paced. “I don’t know what is wrong.”

  “You’re still healing.” It seemed the likely explanation, but… wrong. It shouldn’t be taking this long. Horus was the strongest. The best tracker. The fastest.

  “No.” Horus pulled his shirt up to reveal his healed wounds and then dragged it down, but not before Ra saw goosebumps break out over the skin.

  Goosebumps. A human reaction to the cold.

  Human.

  Something was changing inside Horus. Ra moved closer and breathed in deeply. It was there, underlying his brother’s family scent. Human.

  Was his brother becoming mortal?

  Suddenly, it was too dangerous here, out in the woods. “Let’s go back,” he said, spinning on his heel. He was almost ready to run when he realized that would only exhaust his brother further.

  The thought came upon him so quickly, he couldn’t hide it from his brother. Horus lifted his lips. “I’m not mortal yet, brother. Try to keep up.”

  24

  Rose

  “Ready?” Seti asked. He stood with two pails of water, and Rose stood shivering in the tub.

  “Do it quickly,” she directed, squeezing her eyes shut.

  A second later, she was doused head to toe in icy water. She screamed, but hurried to scrub her body with the washcloth and soap he’d given her. Another bucket hit her, and she screeched, “You were supposed to warn me!”

  Seti wrapped a towel around her, patti
ng dry her skin and leaving little kisses wherever the towel touched. “It is better not to expect it. Rip off the bandage.”

  She shivered, teeth chattering as he finished drying her and helped her dress. The door to the bathroom burst open, and Horus and Ra stood in the doorway, crouched as if to attack.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Horus asked, pushing past Seti to drag her into his arms. “She’s human. She’ll freeze.”

  “I’m all right,” she told him, craning her neck to see his face. His nostrils flared, but he glanced down and nodded.

  “I have connected the electricity,” he said, “next time, we can boil the water.”

  “Warm water,” Rose turned from Horus to glare at Seti, “what an idea.”

  “Here.” Ra handed her the backpack containing her clothes. With Horus’s help, she shimmied into jeans and a sweater, but he wrapped his arms around her when she was dressed.

  “In the old days, we chipped the ice from the Saint Lawrence for our baths,” Seti said.

  Over his shoulder, Ra mouthed, “No, we didn’t.”

  “So we have electricity,” she changed the subject. “How about heat? Can we start a fire?”

  “Yes,” Ra said. “We brought back wood.”

  “You were doing more than felling trees,” Seti said. “Did you make a wall?”

  A wall? Rose stepped out of Horus’s arms to go into the other room and stare out the window. It had started to snow, obscuring everything beyond ten or so feet from the cabin. “All around us?”

  “Around the pond,” Ra replied, “and we’ll do more. Seti, will you help me finish?”

  Seti, who had his arms crossed, stood straighter. He peered between his two brothers. “Me?” A loaded silence filled the air, and then, “Yes, of course.”

  “Wait,” Rose said. “What’s going on?” She looked to Horus, who seemed to be purposefully avoiding her gaze.

  No one answered her. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at the man who had his jaw locked. “Horus?”